


If Only For A Day

by luverofralts



Series: Somethings Are Just Meant To Be [1]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:53:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5166221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luverofralts/pseuds/luverofralts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A repost from ff.net from 2004</p><p>Prelude to "Somethings are just meant to be". Zim and Dib have grown tired of chasing each other in the same tired game. What if there was only one day that they could pursue an end to the war and explore new possibilities?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

The drops of rain they fall all over  
This awkward silence makes me crazy  
The glow inside burns light upon her  
I'll try to kiss you if you let me  
-"Down", Blink 182

* * *

Rain poured down on the rickety skool roof, leaking puddles of water on some of the less fortunate children's desks. Dib was one of the more fortunate students, as his desk was far out of the way of any leaks in the skool ceiling and he could continue his work uninterrupted by the constant dripping of water.

The problem was, there wasn't really any work to be distracted from. Ms. Bitters was conducting yet another one of her lectures on the world and its problems, and was currently rambling on about how she had once had dreams to aspire to. None of this, as usual, interested Dib, so instead he chose to focus his attention on the green skinned boy to his right.

Zim was sitting at his desk, looking just as bored as Dib. He wasn't as fortunate as Dib in the seating plan, and was currently pinned against his desk as far as he could go in a vain attempt to avoid the nearby splash of water that was ricocheting off the corner of his desk. Somehow the alien seemed to feel his rival's attention on him, and he looked up from his squirming away from the puddle to glower at Dib.

Though he was tempted to glower back at the irritating alien, Dib settled for a bored sigh and focused his attention on the window and the outside world. There were days when fighting his rival wasn't really worth it. There were days where all he wanted to do was surrender, or throw in the towel. Zim had been on Earth for almost a year now, and how far had either of them gotten in their missions during that time? Zim was no closer to conquering Earth thanks to Dib's efforts, and Dib was no closer to exposing Zim to his clueless society.

It was odd how much their relationship had grown in the short time they had known each other. In just a year, Dib had found his greatest nemesis, and then discovered how unsatisfying it could be to hurt someone who felt just like he did. Though he fought to deny it within himself, he knew that somehow, in some weird and insane sounding way, Zim was his equal. Whenever his eyes met the Irken Invader's it was like seeing a piece of himself in those fake violet eyes. Zim was, in a way that he could never hope to explain, his greatest and only friend at times. Sure they threatened to destroy each other each time they met, and Zim still made his tired old threats of world conquest, but somehow, in some way that Dib still couldn't quite grasp, he was growing tired of fighting.

His eyes slowly shifted back to the "mighty" Invader who was now quivering in his desk at the sight of a water puddle. They had a routine, one that they had spent the better part of a year developing, and no matter how much their circumstances made the boy want to scream, he knew that their routine could never change. It was supposed to be this way; it had to be this way. He could never even be friends with the Invader let alone...his boyfriend.

Chills ran down Dib's spine at the word. Boyfriend. It was an intimidating word, even though he knew he would never, could never use it with Zim. He needed Zim, needed him to validate his life, to waste time with, to play around with and he knew that Zim, as much as the Irken denied it, needed him as well. However, this was as far as life seemed to be willing to allow him to get to the Invader. Between their differing missions, there was just no way around the destinies the two had set out before them.

Earth counted on him fighting against Zim, and he was sure that the Irkens were relying on Zim destroying the Earth for whatever reason. Zim and Dib weren't acting on their own, they were always acting on behalf of their differing people which frustrated the boy. Why couldn't he do what he wanted? It wasn't fair...and yet it was right.

It was right. Dib had to repeat that sentence to himself often. He repeated it whenever he snuck into Zim's labs. He repeated it when there was an episode of Mysterious Mysteries that he was just dying to ask Zim about. He repeated it whenever his amber eyes met Zim's natural red ones and the tension, and the sorrow of the weight of their roles began to suffocate him. Him and Zim? Together? It wasn't right. It couldn't be. His destiny wasn't to love Zim, or to feel regret about having to hurt him, it was to destroy him at any cost.

Still...he watched the green skinned student dreamily, lost in a world where fate didn't matter. Zim, for his part seemed utterly clueless to Dib's curious gaze, as his main concern was with the leaky ceiling.

The seconds ticked away on the classroom clock, beginning the countdown to the end of the day. Two minutes left in this dismal place and Dib would be free to go home and...well do nothing all that important. Zim had been lacking in plans lately and Dib had been lacking in resolve to stop him. Why bother? Why should he even be fighting Zim in the first place? It wasn't as if the alien was going to accomplish his mission of world conquest anytime soon, and each time Zim tried, no one besides Dib even noticed. Fighting Zim was pointless, all of it was so pointless.

Zim turned his attention from the dripping roof to the book that lay on his desk. He had been engrossed in that book all day, as if it were crucial to his mission. He didn't even look up from it at lunch when Dib had whipped a spoonful of beans at his head, mostly for the sake of appearance. Dib supposed that it was his job as defender of Earth to find out just what Zim was reading, but somehow, he just couldn't pull himself into his stalker mode. Not today. So Zim was reading. The rational part of him didn't care, no longer wanted to know every detail of Zim's life. Nothing that Zim read could aid him in his conquest; maybe another Invader, but Zim? No.

Zim had found a hobby other than destruction. Dib knew it wouldn't last, and that any reading on Zim's part had to be linked to his ever important mission, but for today, he could dream. Dream of a Zim he didn't have to fight. Oddly enough, he had no trouble picturing that Zim at all. It was a thought that plagued his days and haunted his dreams and an image that could be summoned to his mind without a second thought. It was a dream that would never be realized.

The bell signaling the end of skool sounded, interrupting Dib's thoughts and Zim's bored reading. The book on the Irken Invader's desk snapped shut quickly and Zim shoved it into his PAK before Dib could get a proper glance at the title. Well, he doubted it was important anyway.

The boy reached for the backpack he had taken to carrying to class on the floor warily. He found that a backpack was actually pretty useful, as now he had an actual place to store his laptop and other Zim spying equipment, along with all his books for skool as well. It was a brilliant idea, one he couldn't believe that he didn't think of sooner...and one he had stolen from Zim.

Wincing under the weight of his laptop heavy backpack, he trudged out of the classroom, eyes on the floor as not to stare at the bored alien who was cleaning his desk out for the day. He couldn't stare at Zim, couldn't walk to the door with Zim, couldn't do anything he wanted to do. Enemies weren't friends. They just weren't, no matter how trivial and stupid the war they were fighting seemed sometimes.

Dib was so intensely lost within his brooding that he didn't notice he was falling until he hit the ground. He looked up curiously to see the reason behind his fall and somehow wasn't surprised. Zim was walking confidently past him, smirking sadly.

"Out of my way, Earth-stink," he commanded in a sad glee that Dib could sympathize with. Zim had aggravated him, and now he was supposed to do something in return....

"You'll rue the day you landed on Earth, you horrible alien!" he replied with a dull enthusiasm. "One day the world will see you for the horror that you are and...and...stuff."

The words fell limply from his mouth. They were familiar words, he said them almost every day in some form or another, and yet the feeling wasn't there behind them. In fact, he could barely the last time any feeling had been behind his attempts to expose Zim. Similarly, he had noticed a definite lack of enthusiasm on Zim's part as well. His wild plans to destroy humanity were growing rarer and rarer, and when they did occur, there was something...wrong about them. Something off. There was a dullness behind Zim's natural red eyes, as if the spark of their rivalry were gone. He swore, though he knew that Zim would deny it, that the Invader had been staring at him in the same discontented way Dib had been feeling for a while now. It was almost as if something were missing, like there was something else meant for them that destiny prevented them from claiming. Destiny and their conflicting missions, that is.

Zim stared at the boy on the floor for a moment doubtfully and then caught himself staring for an instant too long and quickly turned towards the door leading out of the skool. He clutched his precious book to his chest and swung the door open proudly as if the awkwardness between him and his nemesis didn't bother him. Pitiful humans and their feelings...feelings that he was obligated by duty to ignore, despite his own emotions. After all, Invaders needed...no one. It was a difficult thing to remember each time he caught the Dib staring at him, but it was what his mission demanded of him.

It was still raining as ruthlessly as it had been during class, and as Dib pulled himself off the floor and made his way towards Zim and the outside world, he almost swore he could see the alien quiver slightly as the water crashed against the pavement.

Dib watched as the green boy stuck his gloved hand out in the rain carefully, and then pulled it back fiercely as his finger began to smoke. It was a wonder that Zim had made it this far in his mission. The logical thing for the alien to do was to watch the local weather stations on his TV, or at the very least, buy an umbrella and keep it with him at all times just in case. Still, that was the logical thing to do, and as Dib knew, Zim never did anything that would be logical or obvious. Dib, on the other hand, was an extremely logical person.

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a retractable umbrella, which he then expanded and used to step into the pouring rain.

"Looks like your all your superiority's worthless on days like these, huh Zim?" he teased and his grin widened as the alien glowered at him in response.

"Stinking _human_ ," Zim seethed, looking very much like he wanted to go out in the rain just to prove his nemesis wrong, but was too afraid of the burning consequences to move. "You think that this proves anything? Ha! No human weather can best ZIM!"

However, despite his cocky words, the Invader made no move to venture out into the downpour, a move that while predictable, made Dib smile. That was Zim all right. Good ol' predictable, lovable Zim.

"Whatever, Space Boy," Dib sighed, reaching into his backpack suspiciously. "Are you so superior that you can't accept a little help from your inferior rival?" He made a face while saying the word inferior, one that would have almost made Zim giggle had the situation not been what it was. Dib pulled his hand from his backpack, revealing a black collapsed umbrella, much like the one he was currently holding for himself.

Zim's face softened when he saw what Dib was holding, though he fought the surge of emotions that the action brought him. Their eyes locked for an instant and though no words were said aloud, that one glance held within it all that needed to be said.

'I...." The almighty Zim was at a loss for words for once. It wasn't as if his feelings for the Dib creature weren't known...he just couldn't do anything about them. He was helpless in this game they were playing, just as helpless as Dib. He longed just to talk to Dib like he would to another Irken, to show him the stars, to giggle insanely together over the things GIR watched on TV, but he couldn't. If Dib was any other species, anything but a _human_!

Hugging the history textbook that had become his daily project on discovering a weakness in human warfare closely to his chest, the alien extended his hand towards Dib to take the umbrella from his rival.

His hand loomed closer and closer to Dib's, and though Dib was actually happy for once, he knew this feeling inside of him was wrong. It was wrong to trust Zim, wrong to love him and especially wrong to help him. And yet here he was, going against everything he believed by helping him out when he should be laughing at Zim's pain. It was ridiculous that he'd actually check the local weather each day, and decide against all reason to pack an extra umbrella for the one being he was destined to hate. It was insane!...But it was what he wanted.

Still, no matter how Dib tried to justify his feelings to himself, he knew it'd be breaking the invisible but always present rules of their cruel game to just give Zim the umbrella. Just as the Irken's finger like claws were about to wrap themselves around the umbrella in Dib's hands, the boy dropped the umbrella on the stairs just in front of Zim...right in the open where it was exposed to the torrential downpour.

Zim looked surprised for a moment, but only for an instant. Surprise was soon replaced with a jaded realization that no matter how hard it was to obey, there were rules in place that neither of them could change. Dib was defying fate just by standing there with an umbrella as it was. As much as it annoyed the great and powerful Zim, he was in no position to argue with the rules. Dib was extending him a kindness and he would have to take it as it was. His Tallest were counting on him to destroy this planet after all, not befriend or love its inhabitants. He had a mission...an empty, hollow mission.

Dib stared at the ground where the tossed umbrella lay, and then focused back on Zim, realizing that he had already been lingering in Zim's presence for far too long without trying to pry information from him, or insult his ego. He should say...something. Something mean.

A thousand insults loitered at the back of his mind, but he didn't have the strength to say them. Not today. He'd save them for a day when he still believed that Zim was a threat to his beloved planet, and that this stupid war between him and the Irken that under any other circumstances would have been his friend was actually still worth fighting. He was only 12, nearing 13 and already he was as jaded as an old war veteran.

"I'll...I'll see you around," he managed to spit out before turning around.

He trudged down the stairs that would lead him away from the skool, quickening his pace so that he wouldn't have to hear Zim's reply. On any other day he'd have the energy to bicker and fight with the alien...just not today. Not when it all seemed so pointless.

But days like these quickly passed. He'd had them before, and though they seemed to be occurring far more often, he always woke up the next morning with a renewed desire to serve out his destiny. But as for today....

He heard the far off screams of Zim as the alien ventured out in the rain to grab the discarded umbrella, and he tried to smile, though today it was a smile that had to be forced. One day they'd be freed from this destiny that as the days progressed, felt more and more like a curse. Until then, he'd just have to shove down the tiny voice inside of him that was crying from the injustice of his life.

Rain pelted harshly against his umbrella and he tried to smile once more, though he felt more like weeping on the inside. One day the sound of Zim's tortured screams wouldn't seem freeze his soul.

...one day.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

Blackbird singing in the dead of night  
Take these broken wings and learn to fly  
All your life  
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.  
- _Blackbird_ , The Beatles

* * *

The door to Dib's lonely house swung open without a sound. It was a flawless entry, the product of his father's newest twist on doorways. Security and swiftness was key to his father's designs, and though Membrane had forced his son to look over his blueprints to be safe, Dib had found nothing interesting about them. It was a doorway, and nothing more...yet it seemed to be more important to the famously brilliant Professor Membrane than his son ever would be. Dib was guessing that his father had only gotten him to look over the blueprints for his door invention as a last minute plea for Dib to consider a career change...that and his esteemed, "sane" colleagues had probably been busy that day.

His living room was currently empty, as it usually was, save for the lone figure of his only sister sitting on the couch. He gave his sister an unenthused smile and received no response for his effort.

"Gaz?"

His voice was soft, and weary as his mind was still lingering on the sound of Zim's screams in the rain. His sister's face was illuminated both from the backlight of her Game Slave and from the brief flashes of lightening that flashed through the living room window, making his normally frightening sister even more demonic.

Dib carefully laid his backpack on the floor by the doorway so he could easily grab it on his way out this evening when he left to do his usual monitoring of Zim.

He groaned inwardly, thinking about the monotony of his evening. He always spent his evenings at Zim's, usually in the brushes outside of his house, watching the movements of the house's occupants. On rare occasions, he actually penetrated the inner house and tried to do...stuff in Zim's base.

Admittedly, the occasions where he actually entered Zim's house were decreasing rapidly, as he just couldn't summon an interest to follow his daily routine. It was growing tiring to repeatedly enter and be thrown out of Zim's base. Being dragged off by giant gnomes just got redundant after awhile. Plus it was heartbreaking, seeing the inner base of his nemesis, and with it, the inner workings of his mind.

It was just another reminder of something, and someone that he would never have.

"Gaz? I'm home. You didn't walk home with me today."

Still no response. The raindrops still embedded in Dib's hair rolled off his scythe of hair and into his eyes as he gazed at the impassive form of his sister.

Nothing. Not even a twitch or a nod to acknowledge that she saw him standing in the same room. There was only the familiar sound of clicking and beeping, the sounds of piggies meeting their doom.

"Is Dad home yet?"

His new attempt at forcing conversation with Gaz was finally acknowledged, though not positively. Gaz paused her game, and stared at her brother intensely, her eyes flaming with the very fires of Hell behind them.

"You drank the last soda at lunch today," she hissed, making Dib begin to back away in fear. "I told you that soda was _mine_! You don't listen, do you? You never listen!"

She rose from the couch, Game Slave in hand, and advanced on her brother in an eerie, possessed manner that frightened Dib.

"I-I forgot," he stammered nervously, backing ever so slowly towards the front door as his sister moved like a creeping shadow towards him. "Look, Gaz, I had a really bad day today...well actually it was pretty typical. Everyone laughed at me...again. I was this close to being shipped off to the crazy house again." He made a motion with his fingers to indicate how close he had been to being committed, but his incensed sister took no notice of it. "And Zim...well actually, Zim was the only one who didn't laugh. He was too busy reading or something." Realizing that he had gotten off topic and that his sister, unlike him, didn't care about Zim's daily activities, he tried again.

"Come on Gaz," he pleaded. "You're my sister. Can't you find any bit of sympathy for me? Just this once? It was only a soda."

"It was _my_ soda," Gaz whispered in an eerie, chilling voice. It was so eerie that Dib was far too focused on it to realize that he was now standing outside on his front step.

Gaz grabbed a hold of the door, and before slamming it in Dib's face, she smiled a sweet, and threatening smile.

"If you don't come back here with another case of soda," she threatened, "you _will_ pay."

With those haunting words, the door to Dib's home slammed shut in his face, leaving him alone, stranded on his front step.

Well, that could have gone better. He made a mental note to never attempt to speak to Gaz again unless it was a dire emergency and he was bleeding out of his eyeballs. It was becoming increasingly obvious that his family couldn't be counted on for anything in life, except to cause more stress for him. His father never cared enough to come home, and his sister played the part of a demon from the darkest level of Hell pretty convincingly. There was only one place for him to go now, and even then, he knew he'd probably just get kicked out of there too. Zim's. Zim was his only hope for mental salvation.

Marching through the puddles of rain on the ground and feeling the numbing cold of the still pouring rain on his umbrellaless head, he walked the familiar road to Zim's house. He had taken this road countless times, too many to even think of counting. It was like second nature to him now to head to Zim's whenever something went wrong; it was definitely far better than actually complying with his sister's demands.

Sometimes he'd just sit in the bushes outside of Zim's base and watch the house fondly. It was oddly comforting to just sit there sometimes, knowing that the alien that he had grown to love was somewhere within the structure. Zim was the only constant in his life, the one thing that he could rely on to cheer him up, no matter how bad life got.

Bothering Zim was the only interaction with the alien that he was allowed in this life, and Dib took every opportunity that he could to do so. It didn't feel right to him anymore to fight or torment the alien and seeing him on an autopsy table was officially the last thing he now wanted, but this game, this routine, this trap that they found themselves in was irreversible. They had started their sick relationship months ago as enemies, and now the fate of a world and the approval of two societies rested on how they behaved. Their feelings had changed, but they were locked into a certain destiny now, destined to collapse.

Dib's heart soared a little at the sight of the odd green house surrounded in unsightly lawn ornaments. This was it; this was where he belonged.

The window that he usually went through was open, just like it always was. It hadn't always been this easy to get into Zim's base, but lately, the window was being left open a surprising amount. Dib was even beginning to doubt that Zim's dog robot thingy was the culprit behind such a lapse in security. Maybe, just maybe, it was Zim who left the window open each day. Maybe he was waiting for him, wanting to see him as badly as Dib wanted to see the alien in return. Maybe.

It was a dangerous though to think, even by Dib's standards. It was okay to think that his next door neighbors were ghosts or that the skool was feeding them ground up newspapers for lunch, but to think that Zim-his _nemesis_ Zim- actually cared about him...it just wasn't something that was allowed.

He wedged himself in through the window, not even being discreet about entering the base. He was soaking wet, and the rain showed no sign of stopping anytime soon. Besides, Zim would have a quick, meaningless conversation with him, and then have him thrown out in no time. It was routine, after all and as much as it bothered Dib, it was the only chance he had to see Zim and he would take it.

"Zim? Are you here?"

He heard the clicking of the track that raised the underground elevators and saw his beloved alien rise from the garbage can in the familiar kitchen.

"Dib-monkey," he greeted pleasantly, looking genuinely affectionate for the first time since Dib had known him. "I was hoping you'd drop by."

"Why, so you could just throw me out again?" Dib replied, a little unnerved by Zim's warmness. It wasn't like his enemy to be _this_ cheerful about anything that didn't involve Earth's destruction. Something was definitely up, though it was too early for Dib to venture a guess as to what.

Zim just smiled oddly, making Dib even more uncomfortable. This was exactly what he always wanted, to just talk to Zim like two friends, yet when it finally happened, he was forced to be suspicious. Life was so unfair at times.

"Normally I would," Zim agreed. "But today is different. Oh so different."

"Why? It's just one day out of many," Dib sighed. "And a particularly bad one so far." He paused for a moment, catching himself in his warmth. This wasn't Gaz; this was Zim. Zim! What was he thinking, being this open about his day? "Wait, why aren't you trying to throw me out of your base? Don't you usually...?"

Zim waved Dib's concerns away irritably, as if his puny human concerns were of no real importance to the busy Invader.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure it's not important," he replied dismissively. "In my AWESOME research, I've come across some thing I'd like you to explain."

The alien had caught Dib's interest with both his words and the fact that he was asking Dib for clarification, but his nerves were still ready for any sign of a trap. Zim's query may have been honest, but there was just something wrong about Zim admitting that Dib knew more than him in a subject...even a human subject.

"And this thing is?" he asked wearily.

Zim sat down on his couch, inviting Dib to join him. The boy did so hesitantly, looking around him for any sign of a trap. When he couldn't find any obvious trap (the only kind Zim knew how to set) he tried to quiet his mind and actually listen to what the alien was about to say. From the looks of things, this was going to be one question he didn't want to miss.

"I was studying your great wars," Zim explained eagerly, hope almost seeming to shine through his exotic red eyes. "Although they are PATHETIC examples of wars when compared to the INCREDIBLE feats of the Invaders, there is a story I am most interested in."

"A story? From one of the great wars? What are you talking about?"

Dib raised a curious eyebrow at this, as he couldn't seem to recall anything in any war that would need clarification. Zim was probably after the secret behind the effectiveness of a poison gas used on humans...not anything directly related to Dib, like the boy had hoped. He couldn't get his hopes up. After all, this odd moment was just a break from the cruel game they were forced into playing and nothing more. Just a break....

"Two opposing sides of humans at war with different governments," Zim clarified, growing impatient with excitement in his trademark Zim hysteria. "They kill and destroy each other every day for years because of what their countries dictate to them. And then one day, and for only one day, a holiday occurs that is shared by both countries. I believe it was that wretched X-mas you humans seem to love so much, but that's not important. During this common holiday, there was a stand still and the two sides stopping killing each other and enjoyed each other's company, realizing that despite their differing missions, they were still just _filthy_ , revolting humans. The next day when the holiday had passed, they resumed their mission and killed the ones they celebrated with the day before."

Oh. _Oh_.

The story triggered a reaction in Dib's giant head that he couldn't truly explain. There was joy and excitement and hope...and fear. Did this question, and the fact that it was Zim who was asking it, mean what he thought it did?

His heart fluttered and he had to awkwardly clear his throat in order to regain full control over his voice.

"What's your question?" Dib asked, his voice growing soft with emotion as he thought of the implications of that story despite his efforts to hide his true thoughts.

Zim shifted on the well worn couch, almost as if he were embarrassed to be asking such a thing from his arch nemesis.

"Is it true?" Zim whispered, his voice barely audible. "Do humans really do that? Do they really show mercy to an enemy if only for one special day?"

"Yes," Dib answered breathlessly, afraid that he would wake at any moment to find this moment was only a wishful dream. How was this happening? Was this really happening, or would he wake up any moment now to find this perfect scenario to be just a figment of his imagination? "But an occasion like that is hard to come by. X-mas is still along way away and I have to fight you even then. I'm sure you haven't forgotten last X-mas."

To this Zim smiled happily and scooted closer to the boy on the couch, grinning like a psychotic idiot...a psychotic idiot who was in love.

"But today IS different," he assured Dib. "Today marks one full Earth year since I've arrived here...since I met you. Today is the only holiday I can think of that we both share, and it is a meaningful one...at least it is to me."

Zim held his breath, waiting for Dib's answer. Didn't the large headed boy see the potential he saw in this day? Could he not see the opportunity that lay before them? There, after so many tortured days, was the answer to their problems. It was almost too good to be true.

One day where he could befriend his enemy, one day for him to embrace humanity's weaknesses so long as they provided him with a loophole. Irkens would never extend a temporary truce to their sworn enemy; it was absurd! However humans followed that odd practice, and Dib was human, and Zim was pretending to be human, right? What better way to understand the human mind, than to practice one of its war traditions?

Dib beamed in reply, setting Zim's troubled heart at ease.

"Today means a lot to me too," he replied, extending his hand to his nemesis. "We're just two life forms living on this planet today. No mission, no fate-of-the-world work, just two ordinary people."

Zim clasped Dib's extended hand with his own, pale skin meeting green and smiled.

"Just two people," he agreed.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

_And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter_  
And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying  
And he said someday I hope you get the chance  
To live like you were dying  
-To Live Like you Were Dying, Tim McGraw

* * *

Zim looked at the boy beside him on the couch, the one whose hand was entwined with his, and smiled.

"One whole day for us to enjoy," he stated, as if just by saying the words it would make the idea more real.

"Well, technically since you only told me about this idea now, we only have the rest of today," Dib corrected with a great disappointment. "The holiday we have in common ends tonight. After tonight, it's no longer the anniversary of your stay on Earth, it's just another day. One which we have to spend fighting."

"Oh."

The Invader's face fell a little at the reminder of a fact he already knew. Of course he realized that this truce would only last for the rest of today! He was the ever amazing Zim after all, but somewhere in his heart...he didn't want to face the possibility of having to go back to the way things were. The feel of Dib's foreign hand on his was remarkable, a sensation that he had craved for a long time, and one worth cherishing. The Dib was a remarkable creature, stronger than his fragile human shell made him out to be and with the unquenchable spirit of any Irken Invader. He would have made a fine warrior for the Empire...instead he was a fine warrior for the humans. That was the problem. If only Dib wasn't so unique, so perfect in his oddities, Zim would have no problem destroying him just as he longed to destroy all the other organic filth on this planet, but instead Dib had to be different. He had to be that gloriously brilliant, shining example of the peak of humanity that picked away at Zim's defenses. He was a truly human to admire...and to love.

But...as with all things perfect, there was always a downside. If only Dib would resign from his duties. If only he would give up, give in to Zim's all consuming mission. But he wouldn't and Zim despite realizing that this was the source of his pain, wouldn't have it any other way. This was the Dib he loved, not some spineless quitter. Sure Dib would be his if he gave in, but he wouldn't be the Dib that Zim wanted, or needed to complete him. He needed Dib's banter each day, needed the challenge Dib gave him. He needed Dib as an enemy...and yet at the same time, he craved Dib as a friend...well more than a friend to be precise. It was a problem that would never be solved in this lifetime. It had no visible solution, only to continue on in their sick destinies together, being absolutely miserable. But at least they were miserable together.

Though today, or at least the remainder of it, belonged to the pair, Zim knew deep down in his Irken heart that it couldn't last. Tomorrow would come all too quickly for them, and once again, Zim would be forced to look at his soul mate through the cruelty of his mission. His mission separated them like a glass wall, utterly impenetrable and yet cruel enough to allow them to see the suffering of the other, without offering them the ability to comfort each other.

If only he knew what he had been getting into when he had demanded a mission from his Tallest.

"Zim?"

Dib's soft voice jolted Zim out of his miserable thoughts, and the Irken looked at his enemy in confusion.

"Eh?"

"Stop brooding," Dib teased playfully, though the weight of the knowledge that this alliance was temporary was torturing him as well. "We have the rest of our lives to brood, and only one day a year to be happy."

Zim beamed one of his trademark beams of glee, which were usually reserved for times when he got a new weapon.

"Um, this may seem like a stupid question, but...uh...what do you want to do on this one day?" he asked weakly, embarrassed that he had thought up of a loophole, but had not dedicated any time to what he was going to do when his wish was finally granted. He should have thought of that!

Fortunately, Dib seemed to be at a loss as well. He looked dumbly at the disguised Invader, wishing for something intelligent to say. Why did Zim have to be wearing his feeble human disguise? The Irken was far more attractive and comfortable to be around when out of his disguise.

"Um...well, I haven't really thought about it," he admitted. "I never really imagined that we'd ever get this chance. Of course there's a giant list of things I want to share with you, but there's no way we can do them all today. I wouldn't even know where to begin."

Zim nodded, thinking of the many things he had wished he had Dib near him for in life. Most of them were small everyday things, the type of things that ordinary couples took for granted, such as pointing out plot holes in movies together, or waking up beside the person they loved, but such things seemed unimportant when given the time line they were dealing with. What was something that he had wanted to share with the Dib creature, that was monumental enough to last him a whole year until the next anniversary?

"Well, what are your hobbies?' Dib asked curiously, though he hated to admit that he didn't know what Zim's hobbies were that were unmission related. Did the Irken ever just do anything for fun?

"Well, we could destroy something!" Zim replied enthusiastically. "I love explosions, and fire and-"

"No," Dib answered firmly. "That would negate the whole purpose of our truce. You always blow things up and I always have to stop you. Nothing mission related." Dib thought for a moment and then brightened. "Hey, you could always show me your newest experiment. I'm sure you've got some cool alien gadgets around here."

"You mean the ones you haven't already tried to steal?" Zim shot, throwing the human a doubtful look. "If we can't explode things, then there's no way you're getting further into my lab. If I have to remind you, I'm _always_ kicking you out of there, so that falls in with the no destruction rule."

Dib folded his arms.

"Fine."

Zim mirrored the actions of his enemy and sulked slightly.

"Fine."

The two remained there in that position for moments, until finally Dib caved and sighed.

"Look, there has to be something for us both to do that doesn't have to do with your mission," he pointed out. "Out of all the things we could do, there's no way your mission can affect all of them." Zim looked at him doubtfully, causing Dib to sigh again in frustration. "We spend all day thinking of what'd we do on a day like this where all the rules are gone, and we come up with nothing? You have to at least have some video games."

"Video games?" Zim repeated oddly. "We have one day together and you want to play video _games_?"

"Well, it's more than you've come up with," Dib challenged, feeling the excitement he used to feel when arguing with Zim return to him. The passion had been missing out of their arguments for a long time now, and to have it back, even in the briefest of moments was incredible to Dib. So this is what it had felt like in the beginning, before destiny crushed them both. He had missed this feeling.

So had Zim apparently, as he was glaring happily at his rival and looking extremely irritated.

"How about a walk?" he asked irritably, though Dib knew enough about the way the alien tried to cover his feelings to know that Zim was actually enjoying the disagreement as much as he was. "Is a walk too much for your puny human brain of stink to handle?"

Dib grinned defiantly and grabbed the surprised Irken's gloved hand on an impulse.

"I'm game if you are, Space Boy."

* * *

The two enemies walked through the damp streets, hand in hand, being careful to avoid any puddles. The tree branches swayed around them as the pair stared up at the darkening sky. They had been walking for what seemed like hours, though it had probably been far shorter than that. Without a direct destination in mind, they just walked aimlessly around the neighborhood without saying a word. All that mattered to them was the gentle intertwining of their hands, locked in an embrace that seemed to challenge even fate to try and destroy it.

The two enemies were united, and Dib would walk for all eternity, if only it was next to Zim. What a simple pleasure it was just to hold his hand, to be near him without having to think of ways to try and expose him.

This was paradise to him. There were no floating angels, no ringing bells, just Zim and that's exactly the way Dib wanted it to be.

Peace was a difficult concept for Zim, but he accepted it fairly quickly once he realized just how fulfilling and serene it was. The darkening sky was still slightly clouded from all the rain that day, but he was able to still make out some stars poking through the veil of clouds. Tonight would be clear, near perfect for star gazing.

Without a second thought, his eyes wandered over to the patch of space that Irk occupied somewhere months away. The stars looked so different from this planet, backwards and jumbled up, but he was still fairly certain that he could locate Irk if needed; it was tucked away in the Northern Hemisphere, near the left side, hidden behind a dying star. Though Irk was hidden from his superior view on this planet of rotating filth, there was an odd assurance in knowing that somewhere, a planet of people just like him were waiting for him. His home, though out of sight, would never be fully out of his mind.

Suddenly, Zim felt a pulling on his hand as Dib picked the pace he was walking at. Something had obviously caught his attention and he was driven to reach it.

"I have an idea."

Zim followed behind his enemy, acting fairly suspicious about their destination the entire time. He knew this area better than any other part of the city after all. Why was the Dib taking him here? This was their skool, the same one they spent every weekday in. Of all the places they could go, the Dib chose here? It made no sense.

"Come on, Zim," Dib called, breaking out into a mad sprint when the skoolyard came into view.

He ran eagerly to the jungle gym, which was really just a mess of metal welded together by a cheap administration. Ignoring Zim's cries of protest, he climbed to the very peak of the revolting structure and sat, perched waiting for Zim to meet him.

Reluctantly, Zim ignored the voice inside of him that questioned the point of this exercise, and climbed up to sit beside his nemesis. He sighed, and stared at Dib, who was gazing at the emerging stars with a transfixed look on his face.

This struck Zim as odd. Somehow, the skoolyard looked different in the dark, starry night. The look in Dib's eyes was breathtaking, as his amber eyes searched the heavens above, honoring the majesty of their vastness. Under the stars, Dib looked different to the Invader, more soft, and fragile. But that couldn't be. He had lived among the stars they gazed at, passed by them as he journeyed to this rotating ball of filth and he had seen nothing magical about them before. Why...why were they so beautiful now that Dib was under them?

Not having a valid explanation for his question, Zim reverted back to something he knew well: moody suspicion.

"Why are we here, Dib?"

Zim sulked and leaned against the outstretched pipe in irritation. Dib just smiled back at him, the scythe on his head bouncing as he turned around to face the alien.

"We're here because...because it just feels right," he answered vaguely. "Come on, Zim. This is our battlefield, the skool ground and our day of peace is almost up. Wouldn't it be appropriate to end our truce here on this night, where tomorrow we'll meet to fight again? It's poetic."

"It's stupid," Zim shot. "Stupid like most of your ideas. Stupid, _inferior_ human and his sentimental ideas."

"This day of truce was your idea," Dib reminded him gently. No amount of Zim's grumbling was going to ruin this day. It was perfect. "That was pretty sentimental to suggest. And especially remembering the anniversary of when we met. I wouldn't be pointing any fingers if I were you, you sentimental fool."

"Silence, inferior beast. You have no idea what you're talking of. No IDEA!"

Zim refused to meet Dib's inquisitive glance, which only made Dib laugh. Coaxing emotions out of Zim was near impossible, and Dib loved him for it.

He loved him. He gazed up at the night sky just in time to see a shooting star go flashing by. Either that or a plane was crashing...well he'd just assume it was a shooting star. Stars were far more romantic than crashing plane debris any day.

"Where's Irk, Zim?" he wondered, only to hear Zim scoff from beside him.

"Like I'd tell you," he replied huffily. "With Tak's ship, it'd be my luck that you'd go and annoy the Tallest. They'd never forgive me if they had to put up with your never-ending madness. NEVER! Using my feelings to wrestle information is just so...filthy of you, foul human."

The Irken made several more screeching noises all while flailing his arms like a madman.

Dib waited for a moment for Zim to stop screaming and calm down. Since he normally observed the alien obsessedly on a daily basis, he knew he best thing to do when Zim got himself worked up like this was to wait. Sure enough, it took only moments before the ranting ceased to a dull murmur. After Zim had quieted down somewhat, Dib flashed a dazzling smirk at him.

"So where was it again?"

"Over there, to the left." Zim answered with a helpless sigh. "Just past the moon, no you're looking too far."

He grabbed Dib's giant head and held it firmly in the proper direction. Dib beamed, looking at the bright, yet so distant star, enjoying the contact, however rude with Zim.

"Do you ever miss it?" he asked, and then blushed at what he was asking. Of course Zim missed his planet, wouldn't anyone who was far away from home? "I'd miss Earth if I had to leave it."

Zim let go of the boy quickly, his eyes growing brighter at the mention of his wondrous home planet.

"Every day," he whispered. "I miss my own SUPERIOR people, miss not having to live in fear of FILTHY Earth water...I miss all sorts of things. But I have GIR here to remind me of my people, and I will always have my GLORIOUS mission. It fills me with enough wondrous goo to continue my miserable stay here until I am made ruler of this horrid place."

The alien looked a little depressed at remembering how far away he was from where he belonged, but his words filled Dib with hope. Little did Zim know that he wasn't far away from where he belonged at all. The alien belonged here on Earth, with him...if only he could get Zim to see that.

"You have me," Dib whispered, looking closely at Zim's undisguised red eyes and at the reflections of the stars that swirled within them.

Zim scoffed once more, shoving Dib playfully, though secretly cherishing the mumbled words.

"You?" he repeated. "Don't make me laugh. You, foul _stink_ -creature are my enemy and I live each day to see you destroyed. I will not rest until I stand over your lifeless corpse, proclaiming victory for the mighty Irken empire and-"

Dib interrupted the alien's ramblings with a quick kiss on his extraterrestrial lips. Zim flushed, flailing around in surprise while Dib laughed at his reaction.

"It's okay, Zim," he replied with a grin. "I know I have you too...you horrible alien jerk."

"Eh?"

Zim knew he should say something, anything in reply to this, to regain his lost control over the situation, but nothing came to mind. All he could do was sit in shocked silence, pondering just what had happened. He had been kissed...by Dib....

Dib blushed as all people do after their first, awkward kiss with the one they loved, and he tried his best to meet Zim's gaze with flushing furiously.

"I...think I have an idea," he declared, reaching into his trench coat for something. Within seconds, he produced a camera, one that Zim had seen countless times before. "You wanted something that will last us for an entire year of fighting? How about a picture?"

When Zim's still shocked mouth dropped open even further and he began flailing wildly, Dib sighed.

"And I wont send the negatives in to Mysterious Mysteries," he promised. "If I ever expose you, I want to do it honorably. I can't hand in a picture taken on this day, after all, we have a truce right?"

"Right."

Zim still hadn't fully recovered from the impact of Dib's quick meshing of his lips on his own. It was a feeling that had confused him, just as all the other annoying feelings Dib arose in him were. Still, it had been...enjoyable. The Invader longed to try the experience again, though Dib seemed to be far too interested in setting up the digital camera that he carried with him at all times to notice. Perhaps it was for the best. After all, once tomorrow came, it would be far easier to forget about his feelings if there had only been one short kiss between them.

"Ready?"

A brilliant flash went off that nearly blinded the Invader and he fell backwards against the welded pipe he was sitting on, rubbing his eyes like mad.

"You STUPID _human_! Couldn't you just wait a moment and-"

Zim's agitated rant was interrupted by another flash of light, this time far less intense as Zim had been prepared. Dib grinned as he waited for the pictures to register in the camera.

One by one they appeared, the sole reminder of this one irreplaceable night. There Dib was, sitting beside Zim, grinning like a fool. It would serve as a reminder for years to come; a shining beacon of hope for the two. They weren't the greatest pictures ever taken, but they had both Zim and Dib in them, together and not trying to kill each other, a fact that made them invaluable to the human.

Zim still rubbed his eyes furiously, glaring irritably, but not angrily at his enemy as Dib shuffled over closer to Zim and leaned on him.

"We should take a picture every year," Dib suggested absently, still shuffling through his camera's contents.

Zim only grunted in reply as he waited for his eyes to stop burning.

* * *

They rested like that for hours, lying together in the gentle silence that had fallen between them. It was a comfortable silence, one that was only made more precious because of its rarity. Nothing needed to be said any more between the two, for their hearts and souls were both in perfect synchronization on this rare day. This was a miracle in itself for an Irken Invader and a human boy to both understand and complete each other in the way that they did, but there was no denying the bond between them. Words failed to convey the depth and strength of the emotions that ran through the two, so instead they settled on silence.

The hours, as they passed by didn't seem to matter at all to either of them. Zim's gaze was lost among the stars as for the first time in his life, he saw beauty in human perspective, while Dib's attention rested on thumbing through pictures in his digital camera while faintly watching the rise and fall of Zim's alien chest.

Zim. GIR taking out the trash. Zim again, reaching for the camera. One of Gaz looking murderous. And then...the two shots of Zim and himself lurking among the playing equipment.

He pressed a button on the side of the camera that remotely sent the signal that would print those two pictures out back on his home printer.

It was getting dark out and as hard as Dib found it to leave and officially end their day of truce, he knew he had to get going. Hopefully Gaz would have given up her evil regarding the loss of one of her sodas...either that or he would have to hope that his father was home and was able to let him in. Either way, he had to hurry back to his house, or risk being shut out of it all night.

He gave Zim one last reluctant glance and began his descent off the equipment.

"Sorry, Space Boy," he called, jolting Zim's attention away from the sky and back onto him. "I have to get going...I'll see you next year, right?"

"Right," Zim replied distantly. "I wouldn't miss it."

Dib's dim smile was hard to see in the murky shadows of the evening, but instinctively, Zim knew it was there.

"See you around...the next time you throw me out of your house."

With those words, Dib turned his back to the Invader and began his long walk home, unable to bear a long drawn out goodbye. It was better to be short and wordless now, then to try to stall for more time out of this day. Stalling would only make it harder to walk away.

Zim watched as Dib's form grew fainter and fainter in the dark, until it eventually disappeared altogether. Dib may have been gone, but the damage had been done; Dib now lingered like a ghost in his mind.

"I...I wish you could see what I see in you...stink-Dib," he whispered softly into the empty sky. "I wish...wish you could understand what I have to do...why I have to....Why I can't...."

With a sigh, he ejected a small portable video screen from his PAK and input a familiar number into it, feeling like his insides were being torn out as he did so. He had to do this...no matter what he wanted, he had to do this. His Tallest demanded it of him, demanded that this world be conquered, and there was only one way he knew how to go about doing that. Dib had to be stopped, and though he thought his newest plan was quite humane, the thought of fighting a soul that was a perfect match for his cut him as deeply as if he had been stabbed.

A figure appeared on his mini screen, and Zim averted his gaze temporarily, unable to grasp his motives for doing this.

His mission, always for his mission...never for the amber eyed boy that would always love him so much more than an empty mission. His eyes watered as he snapped back to the task at hand and tried to focus miserably.

_I'm so sorry, Dib. I...I wish there were some other way..._

"Zim?" the familiar yet rarely heard voice called out on his screen, making the saddened Invader nod in response. "Is that you?"

"It's me," Zim confirmed. "I'm going to need some materials. I'm sending a list now."

A list of critical parts and supplies flashed across the screen, though Zim couldn't bear to watch them scroll by.

He had thought of this plan before he had watched Dib under the stars, before he had found the single loophole that had brought them so much happiness. It wasn't as if this plan would kill Dib, but still...he had a bad feeling about this, almost as if he should turn back and forget the whole thing.

_Forget your stupid plan! You know no good can come of this, nothing ever good comes from your plans! How can you bear to watch him suffer once more after what you've just been through? What kind of a monster are you?_

"I think I can get you most of these parts," the vortian on the screen mused, tearing Zim away from his guilt. "If I send it express, it should be there by tomorrow...early morning ish? Heh heh, that crazy Earth orbit of yours! It never ceases to amuse. So you are aware of the temperamental nature of most of these parts, right? Even the slightest jolt could-"

"Yes, yes," Zim interrupted rudely, his mind unable to focus on his filthy evil for the time being. "I am _Zim_ , nothing is too difficult for my superior...superiorness."

The words fell out of his mouth lamely, as if by this point, he was having trouble believing them. Frankly he just wanted to get back to his lab where he could ignore his feelings and go back to reprimanding GIR. It wasn't the way his life should be, but for the next year, it was the way it had to be.

It had to be this way....

Sending his exact interspacial mailing address and then ending the transmission to the seven hundred and seventy seventh cell on Vort, he looked up at the same stars he had shared with the irritating human he loved so dearly only minutes before. They still glimmered brightly, but not in the way they once had. Dib still walked home under them, but the once glorious feeling was lost to the alien now.

He was only obeying his destiny, but somehow it felt like it was betraying the boy he loved. How could obeying fate seem so wrong, and yet at the same time so inevitable?

He certainly wasn't anywhere close to being in touch with his feelings or the supernatural auras around him in this foreign world, but even the clueless Invader could feel the winds of fate move around him, causing his stomach to turn uneasily. Something was coming...something big. The Invader wasn't sure what was coming his way, and didn't really even know if he could trust whatever this weird feeling was inside of him.

Somehow, in someway, it all depended on this plan, which encouraged Zim slightly. Maybe he'd actually make some progress on his mission once this plan was complete. Maybe this was the one plan that would end the fighting between him and Dib.

Peace....When the world was Zim's, he was sure that Dib would give up his fighting and they'd finally have a happy ending. After all, there was no reason to defend a species that didn't exist, right? That was it! This time victory, and with it Dib, would finally be his!

He just had to fight the odd sense of dread that gnawed away at his glorious insides. Nothing would go wrong. It was a flawless plan, one that promised many gloriously happy days with Dib, just like this one.

With that positive thought, he made his way home, after taking one last look at the jungle gym that had hosted the most unforgettable night of his life. Everything would go smoothly tomorrow despite what those gnawing doubts led him to believe. Tomorrow his future with Dib would begin.

Tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

_And I'll miss your laugh your smile_  
I'll admit I'm wrong if you'd tell me  
I'm so sick of fights I hate them  
Lets start this again for real  
-Always, Blink-182

* * *

Zim lay under the stars in Dib's arms, just staring up at the stars above them. Staring at the emptiness of space. Staring.

"Dib?"

Dib looked at the Irken in his arms with a contented smile.

"Yes?"

"I have to go, Dib. I have to leave you."

The words froze Dib where he was, leaving him unable to believe them.

"W-what?"

"I have to go, Dib," Zim repeated, still staring at the stars above them. "I can't stay here forever. My leaders found out about us, they're calling me back, calling me somewhere else."

_Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road,  
_ _Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go._

"Zim...no! You...you can't go! This is insane! Why didn't you just lie to your leaders?"

The alien made no reply, just pulled himself from Dib's embrace and stood coldly beside him.

"My mission...it's been compromised," Zim whispered. "You've tainted me; I can't complete my mission the way I must. I have to leave"

He turned to leave, but Dib's hand snaked out desperately, trying to pull Zim back. Tried to pull Zim back to where he belonged...with him.

"You're not leaving me," he stated, as if it was the simplest thing in the world...as if it weren't impossible to try and control a thing Zim did. "I won't let you leave."

 _So make the best of this test, and don't ask why.  
_ _It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time_.

Zim stared at the boy before him, ruby eyes meeting warm amber in a glance that seemed to last an eternity. This was the boy that had ruined his life, that had destroyed his career. This was his enemy...this was his soul mate.

He would die for Dib in an instant, but he couldn't live for him, couldn't live with him. He 't.

"I...never loved you," he whispered harshly, the words choking their way out of his mouth, reeking of falsity. Words that made amber snap and red flinch.

 _For what it's worth, it was worth all the while_.

"Zim...."

"Zim!"

Dib bolted upright in his bed, covered in a thin layer of sweat from head to toe. It...it had all been a dream. Zim wasn't leaving, Zim still had a mission...Zim still loved him.

Dib panted heavily, unable to get the damnable image of Zim's cold red eyes out of his mind. It had seemed so real....

After the events of last night, such a dream came at an unfortunate time. Today was the day he'd been dreading since yesterday afternoon. Today was the day he had to resume his fight with Zim.

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.  
I hope you had the time of your life._

Huh? Dib looked to his right where he still heard music, and groaned when he saw the source of the problem. He quickly turned off his radio alarm with a sigh. Well that explained the music he'd been hearing. At least he wasn't completely crazy; he'd just slept through his alarm.

He had completely forgot about setting his alarm last night. He had been too late to get in the house through the front door as his father was already home and in his lab, and after seeing that he had not returned with the promised sodas, Gaz had shut the blinds and ignored him. Luckily, all of his training with Zim's security systems had given him the experience he needed to shimmy up a tree in their backyard and agilely leap from it through his bedroom window.

Gaz hadn't heard him come in, or she'd have just sent him back out again, so he tried to keep as quiet as possible in his room. Today was Saturday, so Dib had set his alarm to get up early.

He didn't have to go to skool that day, but there was another obligation still waiting for him: Zim. The alien had been up to something last night; he just knew it. Something was up with Zim; he had seen it in his eyes as they sat under the stars. And whenever Zim was planning something, it was his duty, however redundant, to sneak in and stop him.

Dib shivered, as once again he was reminded of the dream he had just had. This feeling...he had a bad feeling about this.

He reached over to his desk and grabbed his logbook, where he kept a detailed record of all his plans that involved Zim. It would be a reminder of his legacy should any one of his plans go wrong.

_Dear log, Zim is up to something today, I just know it. Well, technically he's always up to something, but today it feels...different. I just have a bad feeling about today, but I can't really explain it. Maybe I really am crazy. Still, I have to go investigate despite any premonitions I might have. This is Zim after all. He's my calling in life; I just know it. I have to stop his plans, he expects me to. Sometimes I wonder though, what life would be like if only Zim didn't have that damned mission. The way he looks at me sometimes...it's like he's as tired as I am of this game...like he wants to just see me as a person, not as the enemy I have to be._

_Damn his people! For that matter, damn my own people. What's stopping me from just giving up, surrendering to Zim having life be the way we both want it? My life is not my own to do with what I want! The Earth and the blissfully ignorant people who live on it own me, just as much as Zim is owned by his Tallest. Two beings who might have been friends, or maybe even more than that under any other circumstances, forced to fight each other as bitter enemies for the sake of forces they'll never understand._

_It sounds weird to think this, but it's like we're star-crossed. Yeah I know how stupid this may seem, but I think we could definitely relate to Romeo and Juliet, only not in the sappy romance way that they were. Like Zim could ever feel that way for me as much as I wish for it; never in this lifetime anyway. Call me crazy (you wouldn't be the first) but I have this feeling inside of me. Not a good one either. Just as Romeo and Juliet were pawns for their families like Zim and I are to our people, I fear Zim and I may face a similar ending._

_How long can Zim and I keep fighting? How much of my life will I have to give to protect my planet, to deny myself the future I want in peace with Zim? Just like the two famous lovers, I know I'll die with Zim; it's my destiny. I have to; he's my soul mate after all, the one soul equal to mine in every way that matters. I'm only twelve, nearing thirteen this summer and all ready I've found my soul mate. I know I have to die one day, but as long as Zim's there with me, I know I won't be afraid. Yes, he's insane, and most of the time he's a real jerk, but when I look at him, it's like looking at myself had I been born an Irken._

_If the Earth could do me just one favour in return for all that I've done for it, I'd ask that it release me. Release me and give me my life back. Give me Zim._

_I have to go now, it's almost four. With any luck, this awful feeling of mine will turn out to just be indigestion or something and I'll be back in time to watch Mysterious Mysteries. For the first time in my life I hope I'm wrong. Either way I have to go; my life is not my own. All I can do is hope that one day it will be._

Dib closed the cover to his journal sadly, his motions impaired by the extreme sadness he felt inside. He felt queasy for some odd reason, and a feeling of dread washed over him. He'd lied in his logbook, said it was four, when in fact it had only been ten. Why had he lied to his own journal?

Because he didn't want people to know where he was going.

It would be too easy to pretend that this day never happened if Zim refused to agree to cease their war. If Zim denied him, he wouldn't have the courage to return home. He would leave Zim's base, go get Gaz her stupid soda and return home after four and pretend that things were still as they used to be without anyone realizing what had really happened. Without anyone realizing that Zim had rejected him.

He shouldn't go to Zim's today. He had no proof to back up this feeling, he only knew that it was extremely important that he not go. He had already lied to cover up any embarrassment that might occur, wasn't that enough reason to not go?

But he had to go. There was no way that he could just ignore what had happened last night. He had kissed Zim and Zim had kissed him back! It had been his first kiss, under the stars on the playground that doubled as his battlefield. It had been a wondrous, exciting, and unforgettable night...and yet he almost wished that it had never happened.

They had opened up Pandora's box last night and now Dib struggled to find a way to shut it once more. He shouldn't have kissed him! Of all the things to do, he just had to kiss Zim! The previous night had opened a world of experiences and doubts and emotions that had previously remained sealed away, and now he was left in turmoil.

The world of last night was gone now, and all of the familiar rules and limitations of his cruel game with Zim were back in play. They were fools to think that they could play around with Fate without facing the consequences and now here they were. He had had a taste of freedom and now he was addicted. He wanted more of the one thing he couldn't have: Zim.

That was why he had to go today, even though everything in his soul cried for him not to. He had to convince Zim to see the light, to challenge fate. He had to convince Zim to give up his mission...something that would be extremely difficult, but well worth the effort. Once his mission was out of the way, there'd be no limits and no rules for them to follow. There would be no more pain, or angst, only love.

He was twelve and foolish, still believing all of the nonsense he saw in movies about true love conquering all. He actually, solemnly believed that his love for Zim would warp the alien's stubbornness and end the feud between them. If their mutual love couldn't end the fighting, then what could? The only other thing strong enough to silence their hate was...death.

A shiver ran down Dib's spine at the thought. No, it wouldn't come to that. Zim had thought up the loophole that had lead to their temporary truce on his own, which was proof of the alien's devotion to him. Zim held the key to Dib's release from his tedious mission; Zim was the only way he'd ever regain control of his life. All of his happiness and his entire future rested solely on that one Irken...a thought that both warmed, and frightened Dib.

He tried to shrug away his doubts, and instead focused on getting dressed. He changed into a clean outfit, briefly glanced at his hair in the mirror and grabbed his trusty trench coat from the floor where he had dropped it last night. Slipping on the trench coat, his gaze fell on his desk, to a certain picture that lay beside his printer. Dib grabbed it from the desk, marveling at how worn it looked already. There were finger marks where his fingers had gripped the picture, and it was torn in the corner from when he had grabbed it last night in such a hurry.

On an impulse, he shoved the picture into the inside pocket of his trench coat, right next to his heart and grabbed the second picture that was in better condition to give to Zim. He took one look out the window at the blazing sun and hastily removed his hot trench coat and placed it in his closet. Sometimes practicallity won over fashion.

He took the remaining picture he has saved for Zim and shoved it into the pockets of his pants.

He would win Zim over, he swore as he ducked through his window and made the risky jump to the waiting tree outside. Once Zim saw the picture that bound them together, everything would be okay. He would end the war between himself and the Irken or die trying.

* * *

The boy soon stood before the odd green house, as it really wasn't a very long walk to the alien's base. It certainly didn't hurt that he had also jogged there, intent on seeing Zim as soon as possible, despite the cold feeling in his chest that told him to go back home.

As his eyes skimmed over the property, the feeling returned to him, only twice as strong this time. His body went cold from head to toe, and from somewhere in his brain, a quote from some long forgotten English lesson popped into his mind.

_Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb_

Was that Shakespeare? Well it didn't matter anyway, as English was the farthest thing on his mind now, and wouldn't help him any once he got inside the green house. Nothing would happen. It was stupid to worry about such absurd feelings, especially ones that couldn't be explained.

But as a paranormal investigator, wasn't he supposed to follow his feelings? Weren't his feelings for Zim what had led him here in the first place? Feelings were things not to be doubted, things far stronger than they were given credit.

Still...nothing could persuade him from meeting Zim. It was inevitable, something that could never be avoided. This had to happen one day, and as long as he was here, it would happen today.

Taking one bold step towards the house, Dib swallowed nervously and tried to ignore Fate.

* * *

"Daughter!"

Membrane stopped in front of his daughter Gaz as she finished coloring in the head of her newly drawn piggy. A strange man about 15 years the professor's junior dressed in a lab coat walked eagerly behind him, his youthful excitement annoying Gaz.

"I'd like you to meet my new protégé, Fred! I had to accept a protégé from outside the family as your brother's currently INSANE and one who would also double as a secretary, since Simmins asked for that RAISE!"

The famous Professor looked outraged at the very thought of one of his employees asking for a raise in salary. He was Professor Membrane and he never received any raises, and he never thought twice about it. The world needed him, any money given to him was merely a bonus.

Gaz looked severely uninterested in her father's new employee and frowned when this "Fred" waved at her.

" _So_? Why is he in our house?"

"Because!" Membrane answered dramatically. "I'm giving him a TOUR! He'll be living down the street from us, not too far away. No, the lab is PAYING for his house, as the two of us must be in CLOSE contact for work, and the remote wireless network the lab runs on is severely weighed down by our EXPERIMENTS!" He looked at his daughter closely. "And he and his wife are trying for a child! Since they'll be living so close to us, you can baby-sit for them while Fred is at the lab!"

Gaz opened one eye in horror at her father's words but didn't argue. She rarely saw her dad as it was, and he was the one person in the world she didn't frighten away. Maybe if she went along with this babysitting thing she'd see more of her father by helping distantly with his work.

"Whatever."

Membrane looked around him dramatically, realizing that something was amiss in his home.

"Daughter! Where's your brother? He should meet Fred too! By immersing him in my work environment, perhaps he will absorb the excitement of Real Science! and be more SANE!"

Gaz shrugged coldly.

"I haven't seen him since yesterday," she revealed impassively, still scribbling on the paper. "He came home after skool yesterday and refused to replace my soda and I haven't seen him since. Maybe he got kidnapped or something."

Membrane looked at his daughter skeptically for a moment then chuckled.

"That boy! He must be over at the green child's house, being INSANE!"

"Where else would he be?" Gaz murmured, scribbling against the paper furiously now. "Stupid Zim is all he ever talks about."

"Well he can't stay there forever," Membrane concluded. "Why don't you go get your brother, Gaz? We really shouldn't encourage his insanity."

Gaz growled lowly, but stopped herself before she scared away her father.

"Why don't you get your secretary to do it?" she asked sweetly. "That way he can meet Dib."

Membrane thought about his child's idea for a moment then nodded his consent.

"Good idea!" he proclaimed, reaching in his pocket for a pad of paper. He quickly scribbled an address that Dib had long ago posted on the fridge and handed it to his new assistant. "There you go! Make sure he comes home. He can be rather persistent and INSANE, so be warned!"

Her father's assistant looked at the paper in his hands with confusion.

"But I'm a scientist, not a chauffeur," he protested, which no one commented on. He turned around and grabbed his car keys from his pocket, murmuring under his breath.

With the annoyance gone, Gaz smirked and went back to her coloring.

* * *

Dib entered the house as he usually did through the open window. The living room was empty, and not even that infuriating robot was in sight. That was...odd.

He pushed a hidden button on the side of a nearby wall as he had seen Zim do many a time and waited for the elevator that the button summoned to rise. There was that feeling of dread again, pressing at the back of his mind...he shouldn't be here.

But he had to be here! Earth's safety depended on his being here to stop Zim.

He tried to remember just what he was fighting for as the elevator rose to the main level and he began to descend to the hidden, murky levels to meet his enemy.

He had to do this. He had to be here. He had to fight Zim. He had to-

"Ah, Dib-human! I figured you'd show up here sooner or later."

The elevator soon stopped on the first underground level, revealing a giddy looking Zim and a mysterious six foot metallic cube behind him.

"Zim?"

Dib got out of the elevator, ignoring it as it rose back up to the main level. Zim was surrounded by shipping boxes, crumpled up instruction manuals written in foreign scribbles, and little packing peanuts. Apparently the alien had been busy while Dib had slept.

"What is this?" he demanded, looking around the room, eyeing the metallic cube by Zim warily. Was this Zim's newest stupid scheme? It sure didn't look like anything to world threatening, in fact it really looked more like a super sci-fi cage. This was weird.

"Ah, you are impressed, no?" Zim smirked in the direction of the glowing cube. "The finest craftsmanship in the Irken Empireâ€I made it myself."

Dib gave the cube a skeptical look but was willing to humor Zim...as usual.

"Oh? And just what does it do?"

Zim took Dib's sarcasm as encouragement and beamed proudly.

"It's a containment field," he announced. "One that will properly hold you while I go about destroying your species. Impressive, no?"

"Yeah, it would be...if it worked," he pointed out, irritating the egotistical Invader. "As if it wasn't obvious, past incidents have proven that anything you make yourself has a tendency to...um, explode."

Zim's hands balled up into little fists as his tiny body shook with undignified rage.

"It does not! You LIE!"

Dib rolled his eyes, slightly ticked off over the fact that this was Zim's plan for today. This was lame, even for him. Hadn't he already tried this plan in some form or another already? There was nothing more shameful than a redundant enemy.

"We'll see," he sighed. "So what's your plan? Am I just supposed to accept your superiority and get in this containment field myself, or should we have a pointless battle to decide what happens instead?"

Zim looked at the dejected boy that stood before him carefully. Zim was slow on the uptake yes, but he knew Dib well enough to realize that Dib was upset.

"This is still about your emotions, isn't it?" he demanded. "You're upset that I choose my mission over you! You're taking your frustrations out on me because I have the courage to face my destiny, while you're too afraid to."

"Afraid?" Dib's face flushed in a mix of anger and embarrassment at the implication. "I am not afraid! It's all just so pointless! You know that! Last night just proved it! Why do we fight each other, Zim? Your leaders never knew about last night; they won't find out if we hung out together for more than one night a year. Why do you still delude yourself into thinking that we're fighting for something important?"

"Something important?" Zim repeated, absolutely furious now at the boy's insolence. "You doubt the importance of the mission of ZIM? You STUPID human! You have no concept of the universe beyond your feeble planet! This is my _mission_. This is what I've trained for all my life! This is my purpose, which as a real to me as your STUPID para _junk_ is to you! How dare you question the importance of our fighting!" He leaned closer to Dib, making Dib recoil away from the incensed Invader. "This is the survival of your species we're talking about, and the promise of future glory for me! Do. Not. Ever. Question my mission again. Ever."

Dib gulped nervously, his heart breaking a little at the alien's words. After the events of the previous night, and all of the feelings Zim had professed, or rather implied having for the boy, facing reality definitely hurt.

This was Zim after all, and he was actually right about something: their fight was importantâ€sort of. As long as Zim was as devoted as he was to his mission, Dib would always have to stop him, or risk having humanity erased from existence. But if only Zim let go of his missionâ€then, and only then would their fighting lose its meaning.

But as Dib gazed as impassively as he could towards Zim, he realized that that would never happen. It could never happen. Zim loved his mission, loved the feeling of purpose and empowerment that it gave him more than anything in the universe. Dib wondered if Zim could ever bring himself to complete his mission, after all that would mean he couldn't use it to cling to once it was done. Still...he had to try. If only he could convince Zim to hear him out, to give their love a chance....

"Please, Zim," he begged earnestly. "Let your mission go, if only for a few days at a time. You don't want to fight me, I know you don't!"

He tried to get closer to the furious Irken, but Zim pushed him away angrily, glaring at him the entire time.

"Stupid, stinking human! I will never give up my mission! NEVER! I cannot fail my Tallest."

Dib glowered right back at his beloved enemy, trying to match Zim in indignant rage, but failing. Everything just seemed so hopeless....

"What have they ever done for you?" he countered, the scythe of hair on his head bouncing in indignation. "When's the last time you even heard from them?"

Zim's face changed, as he tried to think of a response to counter this accusation. It had been ages since the Tallest had actually called him, and even in his frequent calls to them, they never seemed to hang around for long. Still, he would not admit defeat to the Dib human! He should be grateful that Zim was trying to save him from his species' impending annihilation, not complaining about their fates! Ungrateful worm!

"It doesn't matter! They're the Tallest! They don't need to call me. As an Invader, it is my sacred duty to call them." He folded his arms to solidify his point, defying Dib to ignore his incredible logic.

Dib didn't even try to correct the alien's odd way of thinking. Zim was...Zim, and his thoughts _never_ really made sense to the human. Instead, he tried to appeal to the alien's emotions, the same ones that he had found last night under the stars.

" _Please_ , Zim, just give it up! Lie to your leaders, anything! Just don't make me fight you!"

Zim's ruby eyes seemed to soften slightly at the hurt tone in the boy's voice, but he held his ground.

"You ask the impossible, stink-beast. A mission is a sacred duty, one that cannot be forgotten. Even in death I'll carry on my Tallest's work."

"Zim...."

Dib reached for his love, trying to get close enough to kiss his point of view into Zim, but the Invader swatted him away before he got within two feet of him.

"Don't touch ZIM!" he commanded harshly, trying his best to ignore the pain in Dib's eyes. It had to be this way...It had to be this way....

"Fine." Dib's voice was colder than ice, his broken heart evident in every underlying undertone. "Have it your way, Space Bo...I mean _Invader_ Zim. I guess I never really knew you at all."

Zim gulped, his resolve shaking, but he held his ground. He wanted to run to Dib, to confess to him how hard and dismal his mission was but...he couldn't. Red eyes met amber for an instant, and then amber became glassy and broke the glance embarrassedly.

"Guess not."

"The bees is chasing me!"

Both red and amber snapped up simultaneously, their invisible war interrupted by the noisy sound of metallic screaming.

Zim's insane robot, soon appeared down a nearby chute, holding a greasy, dripping taco proudly.

"Tacos! The bees is after my tacos!" it whined, trying to get sympathy from the severely unsympathetic Invader.

"GIR!" Zim snapped angrily, staring harshly at his robot slave, while Dib watched with morbid fascination at the scene before him.

Zim couldn't even show compassion to his own equipment that had been given to him by his precious Tallest, how had Dib ever expected such a creature to ever love a human?

"GIR, go play somewhere else, Zim is busy! Too busy to deal with your current madness!"

The little robot's eyes glowed red for an instant, and he gave a curt nod before breaking out into an ear shattering scream.

"What's this do?"

In an instant, all time stopped for Dib, and across from him, he saw Zim shiver with dread as well. Everything seemed to be running in slow motion, every step the robot took sent a shockwave of impending doom towards the two rivals as they watched in horror. GIR ran towards the containment field, his feeble brain captivated by the flashing lights blinking on the side of the box like cage.

"Pixies!" he screamed and ever so slowly reached for the control buttons on the side of the box.

Dib's eyes went wide, sensing trouble before he even fully understood why. Destiny swept by him, racing through his blood and dancing across his mind. He had been warned, he had had a premonition about this day and he had chosen to ignore it. Now he would pay the price for his arrogance.

Zim looked mortified, as the feelings of doom he had had all through assembling the containment field all came rushing back towards him. His antennae perked up with anxiety and his eyes went wide as he saw his dysfunctional SIR unit push random, but quite important buttons insanely.

"GIR! No! Those levels cannot fluctuate at all! What are you-"

A shudder ran through the machine, knocking GIR away from the now throbbing machine. Both Dib and Zim's mouths hung open in shocked dread at the sight, while GIR ran giggling from the room, waving the taco in his hand insanely.

"Come back bunnies! Why you so _fluffy_?"

There was a thud in the distance that the two stunned rivals barely noticed as GIR ran up the nearest elevator tube, and accidentally lodged his beloved taco in the track, sending all elevator movement to a screeching halt.

The containment field glowed obscenely, casting a pale, sickening glow on the two rivals that stood before it.

"But...but...."

Zim tried as hard as he could to form a sentence, tried to cast aside the doom that now consumed him, but failed. Words failed to describe just what he was feeling inside. He felt sick.

He risked a glance at Dib, desperate for reassurance that this was just a minor problem that could be dealt with quickly.  
  
He recognized the look in Dib's eyes, though few would. There was fear in the human's eyes, but not just any kind of fear...this was fear that, though rare, Zim had seen several times before, though never on Earth, and never in Dib.

He looked at the glorious amber that he had long admired and saw the fear that he had seen long ago in soldiers, in wars, in places far away from Earth and the human he loved. It was the fear of death, the numbing pain one felt before dying.

Somehow, Zim agreed with what he saw in Dib's eyes, though he struggled against such gloomy thoughts. The machine he had built to protect Dib while he enslaved humanity was shuddering, trembling with the weight of destiny...of their destiny. They had been warned, been given a chance to end it all, and they'd ignored it. Somehow, though he knew this to be the work of that infernal robot of his, Zim was ridden with guilt. This was all his fault...all his fault...he had done this....

From beside him, Dib opened his mouth and screamed.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

_I've been here before a few times_  
And I'm quite aware we're dying  
And your hands they shake with goodbyes  
And I'll take you back if you'd have me  
-Always, Blink-182

* * *

Zim's hand collided with Dib's face before the boy even saw it coming.

"Stop your screaming!" Zim hissed. "Pitiful, _weak_ human! We're not doomed yet! My superiority can get us out of this! I'll never surrender to something I built!"

Dib ceased screaming to massage his face where Zim had hit him. Sure it was to get him to stop screaming, but did the alien have to hit him that hard?

"And how are we going to do that?" he questioned, desperate not to feed the dark feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. "That cube thing is glowing pretty strongly...it's going to explode any second now."

"Nonsense," Zim assured his worried enemy confidently. "Zim always has a plan." The alien looked at the throbbing device that was currently expanding to an impressive size that threatened to burst at any moment. His antennae flattened against his head in a panic, as he gulped nervously. "And that plan is to RUN!"

Grabbing Dib by his blue shirt, Zim ran to the elevator tube that GIR had disappeared into, and frantically pushed the button that would summon it to the level the two rivals were on.

A sickening grinding was heard, then a metallic snap, followed by the quick release of smoke in the impatient Invader's face.

A red eye twitched. This was not happening. Not now.

" _Broken_?" he gasped in horror. "That horrible robot!" He struck an angry pose and raised his voice to fit his angry impersonation of his robot slave. " _I love tacos! Oh the little tacos_!" He glowered some more and resumed ranting in his normal angered voice. "Tacos are not worth endangering the mission! Tacos are not worth killing your master over!"

Zim continued to fume, but Dib just stared at him, caught up in what the alien had just said.

"Killing your master?" he repeated in a terrified awe. "Then you _do_ feel it! You can feel it just like I can. We're going to die here."

Zim paused his rant for a moment to stare at his rival. Of course he felt what the boy was feeling. Of course there was a heavy burden of implied doom weighing down on him, but he was an Invader, part of the Irken elite! No mere malfunction would best ZIM!

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zim sneered, though he made the conscious choice to discontinue his ranting...there were more important matters at hand. "There has to be a way around this. There are numerous ways around the base; you're here often enough to know that, Dib-worm."

Zim sneered his last sentence so that it sounded like an insult, but Dib recognized it for what it really was. Zim was nervous and needed the familiarity of their bickering to help him focus. He needed Dib's knowledge of his base to help him find a way out. He needed Dib, and Dib refused to let him down.

"There has to be some way out of this place," he mused. "That's always the hardest part though, it's extremely easy to break into this place, but the hard part is getting out."

Zim glowered at the boy at the implied weakness of his magnificent base.

"Yes, well, I'm sure," he mumbled nonchalantly. "This is the closest elevator off of this level. The teleporters are on the level beneath us, and the walls are made from the strongest metals the Empire had to offer. We can't dig our way out of here, the floor won't collapse...we have to get this elevator working."

Dib nodded his agreement and proceeded to pound on the door of the tube like a possessed man. He had to get this working. He just had to!

He pounded on the walls, pounded until his hands were sore and starting to trickle blood. He pounded and pounded and kicked and struggled...all to no avail. The elevator was jammed and there was no moving it. It was just wasting time trying to dislodge it. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he felt Fate laughing at him.

The field behind him was throbbing to an unimaginable size, but still not exploding. They still had some time left to escape, but not much. From his side, a worried looking Zim stopped pacing around Dib and sighed.

"It's no use, Dib. We're stuck down here. That HORRIBLE robot jammed the computer controls on his way up with his stupid, drippy taco juices of doom."

Dib met his rival's disheartened gaze, his heart sinking when he realized what it meant when even Zim gave up hope of their surviving.

"We're stuck down here? You do realize what that means, don't you?"

A solemn nod in reply. Zim didn't look too happy admitting the truth, and by doing so, admitting that he had failed at something, but he did so anyway. There was no denying the obvious truth.

"We're doomed."

An awkward silence fell between the two, the kind of silence that only occurred when two people realized that no matter what they did, nothing would change Fate.

"No."

Dib broke the silence at last, summoning every bit of courage within him to carry on. He looked at the shuddering cube that lay before them and narrowed his eyes. He was Dib, and he never gave in...not to anyone, or anything. He was Membrane's son, and a future paranormal investigator. This field was a work of science...alien science, and if anyone could reprogram it, it was Dib. He had to try.

He walked closer to the shaking cube nervously, sending Zim into another rant.

"Dib-human! What are you doing? You dare think you can program better than Zim? Your inferior human intelligence couldn't even figure out to read the instruction manual for such a complex device!"

"The instruction manual?" Dib laughed as he neared the controls that GIR had tampered with. "Now there's something I'm sure you read before assembling this. No wonder it's in the process of exploding."

Zim glowered at the boy as the human's hands flew over the controls, trying to learn alien technology before he ran out of time.

"Hey! HEY! Zim needs no instructions! NONE! No instructions for ZIM!"

Dib ignored his enemy's rambling and tried to focus instead on the controls before him. All those buttons...each more confusing than the last. What was he supposed to do? What if he pushed something and made it ten times worse? Well it wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter.

He closed his eyes and used the best scientific method he had available to him at the time: he pushed the big red button.

For a moment, the churning of the machine stopped, and Dib's eyes opened wide in triumph...only to be proven wrong in a matter of seconds.

The machine doubled its shaking, convulsing and trembling far worse than it had been doing before. At this rate, it would burst at any moment.

"Stupid, big headed Dib!" the small green figure behind him snarled. "Look what you've done!"

Dib turned to face Zim with a glower of disbelief.

"What _I've_ done? This was your crazy plan in the first place! Besides if your stupid robot dog thing had only done its job instead of...of...doing whatever it did, we wouldn't be in this mess!" He looked nervously at the throbbing piece of machinery next to him. "If it keeps shaking like that-"

"You'll be destroyed!" The green alien burst out into a fit of laughter, his antennae twitching with excitement. "Finally I'll be rid of you and the Earth will be mine for the taking!"

The boy with the crazy hair sighed, his right eyes twitching slightly. When would Zim get it? Just moments ago he'd been convinced they were doomed, and now, he was already gloating about a victory he hadn't won yet.

"You'll be destroyed too, you _idiot_! Your whole base, your whole mission, everything! Now shut it off! I'm sure in all of your mighty alien superiorness, you can out program me, right?"

"Eh?"

Reluctantly realizing the truth of Dib's words, Zim moved to press a switch on the throbbing machine, but was thrown back by a powerful burst of energy as the machine convulsed once more.

Dib gasped as a reflex after seeing the alien he loved go sliding across the floor, but tried to keep his cool. Zim needed him to be calm and reasonable, not the hopeless romantic he wanted to be. He had to be calm.

"Zim?"

"I can't shut it off! I can't even get near it! Prove yourself useful for once and dismantle that thing," the Irken snapped irritably, rubbing the spot on his head where he had collided with the floor.

Dib stared at the alien as if he were insane...well more insane than normal.

"Me? You're the SUPERIOR being remember? Why would you even think of doing something this stupid?"

Zim looked angry at the insult to his genius, but his eyes betrayed him to the human. He hadn't wanted this plan; he hadn't planned this. He was scared, just as Dib was. He was scared, but he would keep his honor to the end. He had a mission, and him and Dib still had a cruel game to play so long as they were alive.

"Stupid? That's the finest weaponry in the Irken Empire, temperamental yes, but efficient at doing the job I require," he purred in a voice that was far from confident. "It's been nice knowing you, Dib-human."

Dib looked horribly confused at this statement...maybe even afraid. Zim was still acting out his mission, even now that they face the very real possibility of certain death? That was...sad, and yet...that was Zim.

"You're going to destroy your base, and yourself in the process, just to get rid of me?" he whispered. "You wouldn't."

Zim shrugged, his spider legs deploying from his PAK. He gave Dib a final twisted grin before disappearing into the shadows of his base.

"Pitiful human!"

Dib's teeth clenched together angrily as his eyes trailed the fleeing Irken.

"Zim! Come back here! You did this! This is your fault!"

Zim made no reply to the heart broken boy after disappearing into the now rising smoke that billowed from the throbbing cube.

Zim couldn't have just left him! Not now! This was the one moment Dib needed Zim by his side the most and now the Irken was denying the boy his dying wish?

"Zim!" A whirlwind blew his scythe of hair into his eyes, preventing him from seeing clearly. "Zim? Where are you? Don't tell me you've just left me here! Not now!"

A blinding flash of light burned into his retinas and sent him flying against a wall. He felt tears stream down his face as he tried to wipe the dirt from his eyes with his trench coat. It was the end this time. He knew without a shadow of doubt that despite all of his close calls in the past, there would be no escaping now. He would die here, defending the Earth against the alien he secretly had grown to love, but he would be damned if he died here alone.

"Zim?"

He took another step forward, choking on smoke as he moved. Where was the alien? He couldn't have escaped, could he? Had he already escaped certain doom in a secret exit? Had he just left Dib here to die?

Choking back bitter tears, he pressed on through the smoke on his desperate search for Zim. So engrossed in his quest, he didn't even hear the metal snap behind him. He felt the pain sear its way through his spine seconds later, far too late to reverse his Fate.

He cried out in agony as he collapsed on the floor, unable to move as he was overwhelmed by the throbbing in his back. He couldn't move; he could barely breathe. He knew he had to move, knew he had to escape the pulsing device he was so dangerously near, and yet he also knew that it was impossible. He wasn't going anywhere like this. He would die here on the cold metal floor of Zim's lab...all alone.

"Dib?"

Dib's heart began to hope again at the sound of the normally irritating voice.

"Zim? You came back?"

He tried looking around for the Irken, but the smoke was blurring his vision, and the wound to his spine prevented him from flipping over. Had the Irken actually returned to him, or was this just part of the delusions people had before dying?

"Dib...."

Zim's voice was soft, and timid; the voice of someone who saw their loved one in critical condition and tried to hide their fear. Dib knew Zim too well for the Irken to hide his emotions, or the fear in his voice. So it really was as bad as Dib had feared....

"You have to find a way out of here, Space Boy," he gasped, struggling to get the words out while trying to breathe at the same time. His chest felt so heavy.... "I'm already done for, save yourself. At...at least one of us should survive."

"I already tried," Zim admitted, making Dib almost want to roll his eyes in disgust. That was so typical. "The only other elevator I can access on this level is blocked by the containment field. If I summon it to this level, it'll set off the device before I have the chance to escape...with you of course." Zim smiled, though he knew Dib couldn't see it. "Earth just wouldn't be the same without you, Dib."

"Thanks...I think," Dib managed to murmur, never quite sure what exactly went on in Zim's strange little mind. you help me up?"

Zim took one look at the bleeding gash in Dib's back, saw the sickening white of Dib's exposed spine and hesitated.

"I don't think...I...should," he replied, trying to decide if he should even tell Dib how ugly that wound looked.

From the floor, Dib growled and smacked a frustrated fist against the floor.

"I know it's bad, Zim!" he snapped. "I'm going to die here, at least let me die with some dignity on my feet! It's the least you can do for your enemy!"

Zim hesitated again for a moment, trying to think of what he'd want in Dib's place. Deciding that the Dib's request was reasonable, he gingerly tried to lift the boy to his feet.

Dib was crumpled on his knees, unable to support his weight when it finally happened. In a burst that shook the very foundations of the base, light began to seep into Dib's limited vision.  
Gusts of wind burst suddenly from the broken containment field, driving Zim away from the boy he loved, and into a computer terminal.

Without Zim there to support him, Dib collapsed once again to the floor, wincing as his head made a sickening crack against the metal floor. He lay alone once more on the cold metal floor, shivering in the expanding light.

From where he had landed, Zim wasn't faring much better. He sat up on the terminal he had landed on, red eyes wide at what he saw. Light was everywhere, shaking and destroying, conquering every inch of his beautiful base.

The next flash of light was sudden; pulsating and twisting around the dark basement lab of the Irken invader. An astounding boom followed soon after, though Zim couldn't be sure if he had actually heard it, or if he had just felt it rip through his body. It knocked him off the terminal he was sitting on and twisted his small body in the air.

Could he still hear? He wasn't sure. His Irken eardrums were ringing and the world had fallen silent for him so suddenly. The gusts of air still whipped around him, tearing into his skin and devouring all of him, though the high pitched whistle it made as it drew near to him was lost to the deafened Invader.

It was all so sudden, so unplanned. Was it supposed to hurt this badly?

The pain overwhelmed his tiny body, each nerve dissolving before his eyes, as the light got brighter, and the heat more intense. There had been times of pain before, but not like this. Never like this.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought of the Dib human, knew that he was somewhere in this blinding light, suffering as he was, lying alone somewhere in the light. He longed to see Dib again, if only for another instant. How he longed to confess to the human every little feeling he had ever had for him. Every lost kiss, every cruel remark, all of it seemed so pointless now.

How had it gotten this far out of control?

A brilliant flash of light. Another blast of heat as the walls of his base began to collapse in on themselves. His beautiful base, destroyed before his very eyes. And for what? What had he gained in his pursuit of world domination? He had failed his Tallest...and he had failed Dib.

His eyes shut against the sweltering heat, trying in vain to shield himself from the incoming waves of destruction. Trying not to think of what he had done to Dib. Sure it was okay to do this to himself, Invaders took responsibility for their actions after all, but Dib...Dib was innocent. He had come here in peace, to try to end their fighting and Zim had killed them both. He had killed an innocent.

Normally this fact wouldn't have mattered to him, as he was accustomed to sacrificing others to get his own will, but Dib...Dib was different somehow. He had betrayed Dib. This was all his fault....

He felt something collide with him, though he was surprised he could still feel at all. He opened his eyes to see it was the Dib. What was left of him anyway.

Dib's eyes were not closed now, nor were they fully open. They hovered in a state of half open, half closed, still revealing the glorious amber that Zim had admired before. Though to Zim's dismay, the amber was clouded with both pain and injury. Dib was suffering because of his own stupidity.

His mouth moved, though Zim could hear no sound, no whisper. Amber became faded and glassy, his little chest struggling to lift itself to breathe. Dib was dying, and though the alien was too stubborn to admit it, he knew he was too.

The light was close now, too close to watch. Zim looked at Dib's hazy eyes and saw his bleeding lips move slowly, though the alien would never know what he had said. There was no hatred, no fear left in the boy's face now, only determination and a glowing peace. The light engulfed him now, hiding Dib's form and the pain that he had caused from his damaged eyes, though the Irken soldier could still feel Dib's small body pressed against his.

Zim closed his eyes once more, for the last time, as he held Dib close to him against the conquering light.

_This can't be the end, Dib. I won't let it be. Not like this. Not when I could have prevented this...._

* * *

An very annoyed scientist pulled up to the curb of one weird looking green house, looking over the directions Membrane had given him irritably. This was the house. Why the great Professor Membrane thought his newest assistant was some kind of chauffer, he wasn't sure, but he would have to make it very clear to the Professor that his insane son was not his responsibility to look after. He was a scientist after all, and he hadn't put himself through years of gruelling university studies just to chase around a stupid twelve year old.

The house this Dib was supposedly at was insane enough to explain the famous Professor's frustration. Flamingos and flags decorated the lawn, accompanied by odd looking giant lawn gnomes. This place looked like something out of a designer's nightmare, not the house of a twelve year old's green skinned playmate.

With a disappointed sigh, he turned the engine of his car off, and prepared to exit his vehicle. However, just as he was about to step out of the car, he heard something that stopped him where he was.

An explosion. There was no mistaking the scientific sounds of an explosion, and this scientist knew enough to get out of the area before he was seriously injured. From the sounds of it, if Membrane's son had been anywhere within the house, he'd had already been incinerated. It was a wonder the house was still standing.

Grabbing his cell phone, he pulled away from the dangerous house and made a frantic phone call.

* * *

It had been a productive day for Gaz so far, as her brother hadn't appeared yet to babble on about aliens and bigfeet and just what Zim was apparently up to today. She's gotten rid of her father's newest employee, and had a beautiful drawing of a piggy to show for it. Even her father had gotten an urgent call and gone running from the house, presumably heading for his lab, leaving Gaz blissfully alone. With her drawing out of the way for today, she devoted the rest of her Saturday to focusing on her one true love: Vampire Piggy Hunter.

In fact, she was on the 45th level, just 300 points away from levelling up and reaching a new record when the doorbell rang.

At first, she ignored it, hoping whoever it was would go away on their own, without her having to get up. She was so close to victory...so close....

The door bell rang a second time, clearly not giving up. This ignited Gaz's incredible rage, and she reluctantly put her game on pause and grabbed her trusty bat from the closet.

Bat in hand, she opened the door to reveal a solemn man, dressed in the uniform of some kind of low ranking officer of some sort. It didn't matter if he wasn't there to sell her anything, he was there...on her doorstep...interrupting her game. He would _pay_.

"Excuse me, miss?"

Violet hair swirled to reveal cold amber eyes, similar to her brother's in shape and appearance...yet so much more scary.

The officer gulped, terrified of the girl before him despite her small size.

"Are-are you of any relation to a...Dib?"

Amber eyes opened fully in an odd excitement, her rage forgotten at the promise of injury befalling her brother. It had been awhile since the hospital had to send someone to inform them of Dib's whereabouts, and each time, though they interrupted her busy life, the story of how her brother had managed to get into trouble always entertained her. Dib was such an idiot.

"Ooh, did Dib get mauled by Bigfoot this time?"

"Uh, no. He-"

Gaz still looked excited at the thought of harm befalling her brother, which, frankly frightened the officer. He was obviously new and had never run into Dib or his scary sister before.

"Was it gory?" she asked darkly, a weird smile beginning to form. "Does he have to use one of those claw arms now?"

The frightened officer began to back away, now seriously terrified of this strange girl.

"Look, the kid hasn't been mauled by anything. I'm just looking for his next of kin."

"Next of kin?" she repeated, confusion wiping all excitement from her face. "Why?"

"There's been an accident."

"An accident?" she repeated, somehow sensing that this wasn't one of those times she could laugh at Dib's misfortune. This was serious. "What kind of accident?"

Noticing that the girl before him had somehow lost the demonic glimmer in her eyes, the officer relaxed slightly.

"Your brother is dead," he said softly, in the patient voice he had been trained to use to help the family with their grief.

However, just when he thought he'd made a breakthrough with the frightening girl, her look of confusion was replaced with another dark look, different from the one she had greeted him with, but dark nonetheless.

"I don't have a brother," she said simply, a blank expression on her face as she slammed the door in the face of the frightened officer.

She turned and stared at the living room she had once shared with her living, breathing brother, the one she had teased him in, the one she had been forced to watch Mysterious Mysteries in, the one in which he had promised her that even if they lost both their parents, he would always be there for her. Her brother was gone, never to return to her, never to bother her, never to babble on about the paranormal ever again. She was alone in an empty house, devoid of Dib.

Any other sibling would have ran down the street to Zim's, ran into her father's grieving embrace, and cried an ocean of tears. She grabbed her Game Slave from where it lay on the table and pressed the resume button.

* * *

Above the odd green house mere minutes away from Dib's sister, unseen by the naked mortal eye, two spirits drifted above the roof, floating peacefully towards the sky. Swirling around as though propelled by a peaceful current of air, they circled each other lazily without a care in the world.

No mission. No explosion. Just the serene embrace of weightlessness as Fate took its course.

Two spirits drifting towards the stars they both loved so dearly, both isolated and yet irrevocably intertwined in the other.

Wishing. Praying. Free.

_If the Earth could do me just one favour..._

... _Give me Dib._

* * *

* * *


End file.
